Admiral Tali Will Not Take Anyone's Crap
by Lyaksandra
Summary: Not even saving the galaxy will protect Shepard from Admiral Tali'Zorah's righteous indignation.


**ADMIRAL TALI WILL NOT TAKE ANYONE'S CRAP**

A massive detail comprised of several parties was sent out to search for Shepard. There was barely any hesitation from the higher ups as to whether it was worthwhile to mobilize such numbers for a single soldier in this war. Shepard had saved us all. They all had doubted her, and now entire planets lie in ruin. A steep price for their folly. And in spite of that foolishness, Shepard had saved us all.

She had been the only living being in what we now called "ground zero", and since every able body of every known race in the galaxy was out there looking, we actually found her hours after the Citadel exploded. Albeit, it was several hours of thorough searching and digging through the mountains of rubble that were left of London, but it was still a feat that not even a whole day had passed before she was found.

When I finally saw her, walking on her own two legs, smiling as she chatted with the people around her, I felt such relief that my legs nearly gave out under me. Then, I remembered what she had done, and all that relief turned into anger. It was like a surge of fire rising from my stomach and engulfing my head, all reason burned instantaneously. I began walking toward her with purpose, pushing and shoving through bodies of all sizes, most larger than mine. Did they complain? Did they look at me like I was crazy? I did not care. Once I was upon her, my right hand moved instinctively toward my lower back. I swiftly lifted my shotgun with both hands, ready to smack Shepard right into her traitorous face.

Somehow, I managed to stop myself. But, all that anger needed a way out. It was too much pressure contained too suddenly in too small a space. So, it came out as words. Or something similar. Even to my ears, I sounded more like a beast than a person.

"How dare you! You infinite bosh'tet!" I bellowed at the top of my lungs. "How could you do this to me?"

She had not noticed me until I began shouting in her face. Her eyes grew wide as saucers the moment her head turned toward me, the jewel green of her irises clearly displayed. I could see the fear and relief in them. Her gaze turned loving almost immediately after, and she tried to reach out to me. My left hand moved reflexively against her chest to stop her. That simple action soured her expression, and it broke me a little inside to see her hurt. To know that I had been the one to hurt her by robbing her of this moment. She had robbed me of so much more, though.

"How could you do this to me, Shepard?" I repeated, more calmly this time, but still loud enough to be heard by everyone around us. I was past feeling any shame.

I could practically see the moment Shepard's mind shifted gears. Her expression changed from hurt and surprised to one I knew very well. A slightly smug curve appeared on her pink, enticing lips as her right hand captured my wrist and her eyebrows raised in a flirtatious manner.

"Well, I had to be sure that you were going to be safe. You knew I would be safe, come on, and I knew you would find me. Because you're my Shotgun Goddess."

All the anger left my body in an instant. How did she come up with those titles, those pet names, as humans called them? For that matter, how did she always know what to say to get under my skin? My face was now burning for entirely different reasons, and I was grateful yet again for my helmet. I moved my right hand up to reach for her, intent on hugging her. Somehow, I managed to stop myself. Was I really going to let her get away with dumping me in the Normandy to go die alone after a few honey coated words? My resolve was galvanized as I ran that thought through my mind. Of course I was not going to forgive her so easily. It was a good thing that she could not see my face behind the glass, my blushing blunder was safe from her prying eyes.

However, in one swift motion, Shepard used the opening created by my hesitation to get right beside me, her right arm tightly surrounding my waist. She then nudged me forward, and like an idiot, I complied and began walking along with her.

"You're blushing, aren't you?" she said with a now wholly smug smile on her face. That face framed in red hair that was so beautiful in spite of the cuts and bruises. "That means I'm off the hook."

"No!" I cried out, my voice sounding high pitched and whiny even to my own ears.

That made my anger spike once more, if only for an instant, and even if I was actually angrier at myself for falling prey to her wiles and charm. Without hesitation, my elbow connected with her side. That got me dislodged from her embrace, and I began walking ahead of her in long, quick strides.

"Tali, wait!" Shepard gasped behind me, obviously out of breath. I did not care. A little elbow to the ribs was not going to kill her. Even if they were broken.

"No, Commander. I need to get back to the Normandy as soon as possible. You know, so I can be safe. Who knows what could happen to me out here? Because even though I'm a Shotgun Goddess, apparently I'm a fragile one."

I heard a defeated sigh behind me and knew that now she was finally feeling at least a little repentant about her actions. That brought a smile to my lips. Still, I did not break my stride and carried on toward the Normandy like normal. There would be plenty of time for reconciliation later. The kind that could only take place in the bedroom, on the bed and between the sheets. Keelah, by imagining it, I had just made the wait sort of unbearable. Damn that woman!

 **FIN**


End file.
